It seems that – just like diaries – blogs experience short phases of neglect and silence. Or long phases.
My last entry closed with my trip to Lago Titicaca and then onwards into Peru to see the famous and mysterious sights of Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines. Much has changed since this last entry over four months ago…
Before delving into the new developments in an effort to make blogging again a regular habit to inform friends and family about my whereabouts and daily experiences abroad, I should probably provide closure on the South America trip first – a trip the like I had never done before, and probably will never be able to do again.
After leaving La Paz I headed to a small lakeside city at the shores of Lago Titicaca from which I visited the birthplaces of Sun and Moon – the most sacred site in Inca Mythology. I had now moved into former Inca territory, and the abandoned ruins with the skilled masonry of the Incas were now scattered throughout the area.
After another long bus haul to the City of Puno – a small city at the lake on the Peruvian side – I enjoyed a day trip to the famous floating islands and the remote island of Taquite. The floating islands served as a protective mechanism from persecution – on land the resident Indians faced war and assaults from other tribes, on the large islands, created by piling bundled layers of reed on top of each other, they remained save.
From there on I headed to Cuzco, the gateway town for trains departing for one of South America’s biggest attractions altogether. After a painstakingly slow train ride from here I arrived at the city of Agua Calientes, nestled in a narrow valley below densely forested mountains. A winding road with countless switchbacks propelled me to the heights of narrow mountain ridge from which I can lay eyes on it for the very first time: Machu Picchu. More impressive than any postcard or picture it towers high above the valley and river flowing below on a stretch of rock that seems impossible to hold a city. It is no wonder that the Spaniards never discovered this city during their conquest, and it was only rediscovered in the early 20th century.
Back again in Cuzco I am beginning the home stretch of my journey, which will lead me to Lima where I will have to catch a plane that will take me back to Austin and then via Cuba and Seattle back to Europe. I decide not to take the direct route to Lima, but instead stop for a day to take a quick glance of yet another one of South America’s famous mysterious sites: The Nazca lines. Highly accurate shapes and lines depicting animals, people, and unknown entities carved into the rock – in a size only truly appreciable from high up in the air. Many theories have emerged how and why these lines were created, but none has ever been proven.
My time in South America had come to an end… it was over 5 months that I had set out for Costa Rica to brush up my Spanish, now, thousands of sleepless miles in overland buses and dozens of cheap accommodations later, I was in Lima, waiting for my flight that would take me out to Austin, back to Heather and Mat, and onwards back to my friends in Seattle and Europe.
After some time at home now, I managed to get a compilation of some of the nicest pictures into
a single gallery on my smugmug site, yet it doesn't allow me to sort it chronologically... maybe some other time.
It turns out that I'm not only a 32-year old unemployed, carless, illegal alien, tech worker that lived for a few weeks with his mom... No! Since a few weeks I've also slipped into the new role of being an uncle. Meet Matti, my new nephew! Or am I the new uncle? Chicken/Egg anyone?
Of course I do realize that this new responsibility will demand a lot from me - after all, who else is responsible for ensuring that careful parental education and set boundaries go right out the window if not the do-no-good uncle that is criss-crossing the planet? In order to properly introduce myself to the little fellow, I decided to pay another short visit in Berlin before moving out to Dublin. I can't wait for the little guy to come and visit me for the first time. I'm sure he'll enjoy Guinness. 
These are just a few quick shots I grabbed from my small camera and uploaded from my hotel room in Dublin - I'm sure once I get my real camera and desktop back I'll add all those pictures that are still trapped in the depths of my moving boxes. And as it is with baby pictures, I'm sure I'll take a whole boatload more pretty soon as well. 
